Book mark



Sept. 20, 1960 L. B. HASKINS BOOK MARK Filed Dec. 12, 1958 .INVENTOR Lemma B ATTORNEY Turq- United States Patent BOOK MARK Lewis B. Haskins, 426 Richard Way, North Plainfield, NJ.

Filed Dec. 12, 1958, Ser. No. 779,913

3 Claims. (Cl. 116-119) This invention relates to a book mark and more particularly to an improved mark that indicates a readers position on a book or magazine page.

Over a period of years a variety of book and place marks have been proposed to designate a readers position on a particular page. Variations of the foregoing marks have often included means for marking a specific word in a sentence. Marks of this type are primarily for convenience of the reader and are adapted to designate the point or place on a page at which a reader terminates his reading.

Many of the marks created'for this purpose have involved complicated mechanisms, were often bulky in size and occasionally disfigured or unduly burdened the book.

The mark of the present invention is an improvement over marks of the type referred to in that it is of simple construction, has a pleasing appearance, is inexpensive, compact and will not unduly burden or disfigure a book when placed therein.

The book mark of the present invention comprises a plurality of sections linked by hinges to form a continuous belt. I-Iinging of the body sections at adjacent edges permits collapsing or flattening of the belt in a manner that permits an arrow positioned on one of the body sections to designate a line of type.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my new and improved book mark showing the continuous belt on edge.

Figure 2 is a view of the mark in a partially collapsed position placed in a book.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the mark taken along the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a partial side and top view of an alternate modification of the present invention.

Referring now to Figure 1, it will be seen that the mark of the present invention includes a plurality of sections 2 hinged at adjacent edges to provide a continuous belt. Sections 2 may be square or rectangular shape of any suitable material, such as cardboard, plastic, leather or metal. The sections should be sufiiciently thin so that the mark will not have undue bulk when positioned flatly in a book. The number of sections and their size may of course be varied, it being necessary, however, than an even number of body sections be used. One section will include on the outer face an arrow 6 which may be impregnated, painted or otherwise fashioned on the selected section. Arrow 6 is oriented in a direction parallel to the hinged edge so that it will identify a specific line of type when the mark is placed in a book.

As will be noted, the body sections are hinged at 4 with any type of flexible material, such as plastic, folding adhesive or the like which will permit the mark to be collapsed flat when positioned in a book. As will be apparent from Figure 3, hinges 4 are placed along the edges of adjacent sections. The links are adapted to fold on themselves as indicated at 5.

Patented Sept. 20, 1960 When the mark is used it is placed in a book as indicated by 8 (Figure 2) and by reason of its hinged construction lies flat on the page with the arrow indicating a particular line of type. The arrow may be advanced on the page to the readers position by moving the belt in the proper direction. As shown in Figure 2, the arrow 6 will move up the page if the belt is advanced in the direction of arrow 9, thus assuming the position outlined by dotted lines 10. In a similar manner the arrow is moved down the page by moving or advancing the belt in a direction opposite to that indicated by arrow 9. When the readers position is on the opposite page of the book, i.e., the left side as at 12, the mark is turned or rotated 180 so that the arrow 6 will designate a line of type on the left hand side of the book. In this position the arrow may be moved up or down the page as previously described.

In Figure 4 another embodiment of my invention is shown in which the hinges 24 comprise a plurality of I perforations between adjacent sections. In this embodiment the mark can be fashioned from extruded plastic, paper or other like materials which will permit a folding and collapsing along the hinge 24. When constructed in this form the mark of the present invention may be conveniently shortened for use in smaller size books and magazines. Shortening is accomplished by an accordion like folding of adjacent sections. To accomplish shortening of the mark as shown in Figure 4, the inside face of section 25, indicated by 27, is folded back against the inside face 23 of section 22. The outside face of section 28 is then folded against the outside face of section 25, with the inside face of section 29 being folded against the inside face of section 28. In this manner the mark is shortened in length, the equivalent of two full sections. Once folded or shortened in this manner the folded sections may be held in place by a paper clip or other convenient means. In a like manner the mark can be shortened further by folding additional body sections together in the manner described. Adjusting the length of the mark in this manner permits its utilization in books or magazines of varying size.

As will be apparent the mark of the present invention is readily adapted to be used in books of varying size to designate a readers position on a page without unduly burdening the book. The flat surface created when the mark is positioned in the book provides an ideal surface for an advertising message or other printed matter including, for example, a readers name when the mark is used for gift purposes. It is of course understood that the sections may include various designs, either on the flat surface or the edge, provided of course that the section includes at least two opposite edges adapted to permit hinging on the adjacent sections.

While I have described my invention generally with respect to the specific embodiments shown, it is to be understood that it is not intended to in any way limit the invention other than by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. A book mark comprising a plurality of body sections hinged at adjacent edges so as to form a continuous belt with at least one of said sections having positioned on the outer surface an arrow paralleling the hinged edge of the section on which it is positioned.

2. A book mark comprising an even numbered plurality of sections not less than four, said sections having at least two opposite edges adapted to be hinged to like edges on adjacent sections to form a flexible endless belt, a plurality of hinges equal in number to the number of body sections positioned on the edges of adjacent body sections, one of said body sections including an V arrow on its interface oriented in a direction parallel to the hinged edge of the section on which it is positioned. 3. A book mark comprising an even-numbered pluraiity. of :thin body sections at least four. in numben one of said sections having an'arrow fashioned thereon, said 5 References (Iited inthe file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Goins Aug. 30,1955

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of 1911 

